Luanda, Angola, 17 Nov – Angola is likely to produce 2 million barrels of oil per day in 2008, almost double the production of 2005, the head geophysicist of Angolan state oil company, Sonangol said in Cape Town Thursday.

During an oil conference in the South African city, Francisco Lopes da Cunha said that the target Sonangol proposed was to produce 2 million barrels per day against production of 1.25 million barrels per day in 2005.

Lopes da Cunha also said that the Angolan oil sector, the second largest in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria, needed annual investments of between US$4 and US$5 million in the near future.

Angola, whose economy was destroyed by 27 years of civil war, has recently benefited from international oil prices and an exponential increase in foreign direct investment.

US oil giant Chevron is one of the groups that increased its investment in the Angolan oil sector and some Chinese companies have also entered the market supported by a number of Chinese loans to Angola.

The Cabinda enclave is the focus of oil production in Angola, as it accounts for 65 percent of production.

Oil exploration in the region is offshore, but the Luanda government has been trying to convince companies to survey on land, now that a peace agreement has been signed with the Cabinda separatist group. (macauhub)